Community-Based Cultural Heritage Tourism Internship

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Community-Based Cultural Heritage Tourism Initiative in Upper Egypt

Spring 2025 Internship Opportunity

The Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Cultural Vitality Program seeks an intern to support its project developing local community-driven tourism experiences in Upper Egypt. Smithsonian’s approach to cultural heritage tourism product development utilizes research and presentation methods from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival to work with community members creating inclusive, sustainable tourism experiences that can help preserve and promote living cultural practices. The current phase of the project will produce research roundtables, a proposal for community-based tourism development work, and online magazine features highlighting Upper Egyptian culture and tourism.

This internship role is suited to students or recent graduates who possess strong writing skills and interest in applied folklore and anthropology, international relations, tourism, cultural heritage studies, and/or Middle East studies. Arabic language ability is desirable but not required. Candidates with a lived connection to the Middle East and North Africa region are especially encouraged to apply.

The internship is part-time from February through May, 2025. The role is supported with a stipend based on a rate of $800 per week for up to 12 weeks.

Learning Objectives:

• Learning about the planning and implementation of international cooperative cultural initiatives, including proposals, community consultation, accountability, and reporting

• Gaining familiarity with aspects of content production including digital asset management, working through an editorial process, and crafting social media posts and articles for a target online audience

• Learning about the methods, planning, and archival collections of the Folklife Festival

• Exposure to the other operations and resources of the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and the Smithsonian Institution

What to Expect:

• Participation in regular meetings with the Cultural Vitality team and other meetings at CFCH and with external colleagues

• Conducting library research and compiling relevant information on Upper Egypt’s living cultures, tourism in Egypt, and other topics

• Supporting the team with development of planning documents, agendas, reports, notes and other communications

• Assisting with the processing of documentation created during the project

• Writing posts and articles to share the project on social media and/or Folklife Magazine

How to Apply

To apply online, visit solaa.si.edu and create an account. After selecting Internship, specify the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Under the Additional Questions section, indicate “Cultural Heritage Tourism in Egypt” as the internship area. Please also indicate your availability for remote, hybrid, and/or in-person participation. Upload the following supporting materials:

• one- to two- page personal essay (guidelines given in SOLAA)

• resume

• academic transcripts (optional)

• letters of recommendation (optional)

The submission deadline is January 30.

If you have questions, please contact intern coordinator Arlene Reiniger at ReinigerA@si.edu.